A Traveling Engine plane.

So, we jump ahead to assembly.  I would normally do these posts over a few days, but I was more interested in building than documenting, so you guys get to see "start to finish" in one sitting.

Parts covered and ready for final assembly:



Left side view of assembled plane:



Front:



Right side.  The plans call for a 1 ounce tank, but that tank seems awfully big.  I'll definitely be short tanking for the first few flights.  One ounce will probably seem like forever when its going roundy-roundy:



Rear view:



And bottom.  Inverse colors of the top:



I went with the standard Batjac Aeroworks© Paint Scheme.  Red seemed a good color for this.  Trendy.  Sophisticated.  Eye-catching.  Besides, I have three rolls of red to use up.

Final thoughts:  For a plane that's targeted at .049-.061 engines, it seems awfully heavy, even for a TD or a Norvel.  When I looked at building it, I figured I'd also use this as a test frame for an electric plane.  After that, I think maybe I'll try a Medallion .09.  It seems sized better to take an .09 than an .049.  But that's for later.  First I need to fly it with the Carbonite Engine.



Copyright © 2013 The Trademark Mark

It has a 28" wingspan.  Chord averages out to about 6" for ~ 168 sq. in. on the wing.  I just balanced it, and all that wood in the tail makes it mucho tail heavy.  I had to add an ounce and a half to the nose to balance it out. If you build one, definitely go for a built up stab. You might also taper the bottom of the fuselage from the wing t.e. to the end where it would just clear your control horn.  Hopefully my son and I will be able to test fly it this weekend.  I'll make a mount for an electric motor soon, and hopefully the weight of the motor and battery will balance it out better.  But, now that this iteration is finished, I'll move on to another idea that's been kicking around in my head for a while.  I should be able to get it built this week, if I can get to the office supply store sometime in the next couple of days.

The Balanced Mark

JPvelo wrote:I've never monocoated a profile fuselage. How do seal the edges around the engine area to prevent fuel from lifting the covering?

Jim

I've never had Monokote/Econokote that's been ironed over other Monokote/Econokote lift due to glow fuel. For the areas around the engine that are bare wood and where the film edges are, I just fuel proof the wood with thin CA, and it also keeps the film from lifting. Even though I really prefer Monokote to Econokote, the Econokote is better for profile fuselages as it take sharper turns without wrinkling as much, and shrinks up more than Monokote. It's also a few bucks cheaper, a little lighter, and irons on at a lower temp. The big drawback for me and the reason I'm not partial to it is that the color smears pretty easily if you're not careful. The white on the plane is Monokote, and the red and black are Econokote.

The Koting Mark